Apparatus for capping bottles



Nov. 24, 1925.

M. C. WHITAKER APPARATUS FOR CAPPING BOTTLES Filed Jan, 19; 1922 e Sheets-Sheet 1 wuulifillliiinml mi awn U w w Nov. 24, 1925. 1,562,479

M. c. WHITAKER APPARATUS FOR GAPPING BOTTLES Filed Jan. 19. 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 w ll Nov. 24, 1925.

. M. C. WHITAKER APPARATUS FOR CARPING BOTTLES 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 19, 1922 ilu Ill IH HI.

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Nov. 24-, 1925. I 1,562,479 M. c. WHITAKER APPARATUS FOR CAP1 ING BOTTLES I Filed Jan. 19. 1922 e Sheets-Sheet 4 A TTORNE'YS 1,562,479 WHWAKER APPARATUS FOR CAPPING BOTTLES Filed Jan. 1.9. 1922 6 Sheets-Shee fi 5 INVE R TTORNEYS In v Nov. 24,1 v 1,562,479

. M. C. WHITAKER v APPARATUS FOR CAPPING'BOTTLES 1 6 She ets' -Shet 6 5: \AM I a coating material of such a character that a 1 material is formed which, when dried, ef-

Patented Nov. 24, 1925.

MILTON o wmraxnn, or ew YoRK, N. Y., ASSIGNQB TO U. s. rnnusrnur. uiconor.

00.,"A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

, APPARATUS FOR CARPING BOTTLES.

Application filed January 19, 1922. Serial no. 530,253.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, M LTQN C. WrrrrAKnR, a citizen of the United States, a resident of New York, in the county of New York and- State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Capping Bottles, of ,which .the fol'-' lowing is a specification. I Y

- My invention relates to a method of and apparatus for capping bottles by the use of therefrom a coherent layer of the coating fectively seals the bottles.

' X The object of my invention is to provide a method and apparatus by which such coat-.

in composition may be effectively applied to liottles and in such a manner that the bottles'are continuously supplied to. the ap paratus for receiving therein a uniform coating which is dried and hardened before the bottles leave the machine. One of the objects of my invention is-particularly to provide a cap of uniform thickness made from the coating composition; Again, a further object is'to apply a coating ma- 'terial containing, metallic particles, which when dried gives the appearance of a continuous sheet of metal, the apparatus being so arranged as to keep the'compos'ition uniform while being applied to the bottles. Further objects of my invention will be apparent from the detailed descriptionth'ereof which follows:

Many different types of apparatus may I be used for carrying out my process and as embodiments of my apparatus,

but by way of example,- I shall describe one such type of apparatus" in the accompanying drawings, in wh-ich V Figure 1 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying my invention; 1

I Fig. 2 is a vertical section of taken on line 22 of Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of oneof the the same rotary bottle containers taken on line 3-3- of Fig. 1; y

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 taken on line 4-4;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section'of the same taken on line 5 -5;

Fig, 6 is another vertical sectionthereof taken on line 6-6; Y

Fig. 7. is a further vertical section taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 1;

position v a. l ig lO .1s an end elevation of the same I on provided with a worm worm 6, which drives a referred to, be maintained closed by said s'pririgWvhen Fig. 8 is a view of a portion of the a. Q

direction of line 88 therein;

Fig. 9 IS, a side elevation of one of the bottle containers showing the gate in open and ' Fig.11 is a shown in Fig. 9. c

' In the drawings, I have shown a table 1 havin an electric motor 3, which drives a carrying another worm-wheel 7 on a main vertical shaft 8. The main vertical shaft 8 is provided at its upper end with a spider 9 carrying a plurality of radiatin arms 10 on, the outer end of each of which there is rotatably mounted a bottle container 11. The bottle container 11 has a longitudinal recess 12, which is U-shapedin cross section, to receive a bottle 13, and'at one side of the container 13 there is a bottle releasing projection 14 having a beveled worm-wheel 4 on a shaft 5 edge 14 to be hereinafter referred to. At

the other side of the bottle container there tained open in one position by a spring 16 while a releasing arm 17, to be hereinafter rests against a stop 18, and to the gate is in closed position so as to hold a flange 19 of the bottle. On the inner end of the bottle container there is, furthermore, provided a square cam surface 20 which contacts with a plurality of track sections 21 located around the periphery of the table 1. Furthermore, secured to the inside of the cam surface 20 there is a gear22 which is adapted to cooperate with a series of stationary gear. sections 23, 24, 25 and 26 located within the track sections 21 on the table 1. Said gear 22, furthermore, cooperates. with :1

ar 27 to be hereinafter referred rotating Furt ermore, each ofthe arms 10 has a rotatable wheel 28 which is arranged to run :(pon a circular supporting track 29 carri by the table 1. A

The bottles 13 are fedinto each bottle container 11 while the gate 15 is in open poplan view of the container as thereon against the upper end 2 mounted theresition, as shown in F ig. 9, the bottles being I fed in this manner by means of a conveyer belt 30 carrying a series of bottle-holding llO brackets 31, and supported by a pulley 32, which is driven by a smaller pulley 33, which receives a belt 34 driven from a large pulley 85. The pulley 35 is carried by a shaft 36, having abevelled gear 37 meshing with a beveled gear 38 on a shaft 39, which has a sprocket wheel 40 driven by a chain i1 from a sprocket wheel 42 on the main shaft 8. The belt 30 conveys the bottles to the interior of a chute 43, Where they are retained in position by a spring-pressed pivoted. gate 44, which has an arm 15 adapted to be operated by the bottle releasing .projection 14, whose beveled side 14: causes arm 45 to move out and rotate gate 44 counterclockwise (Figure 2). As soon as a bottle has thus been fed into the bottle container 11 andhas been withdrawn by the, spider 9 from in front of the chute 43, the spring-pressed gate 1% returns to its original position, so as to bring a new bottle in position to be delivered to the next succeeding bottle container. Furthermore, as .the bottle container 11 moves in this way, away from the chute 43, the flange 19 con tacts with an inclined arm 46 so as to move the gate 15 into closed posit-ion, thus clampingthe bottle in place in the container 11.

Any danger of breakage to the bottle, by reason of these movements of the bottle rela- ,tive. to the container 11, are eliminated by .providing' a bed of rubber 47 in the bottom of the'recess 12 in the container. The bottle container 11 is thus carried around the spi- 3 f ler 9 in horizontal position by reason of the traclnsection 21, with which' the cam surface 20 initially contacts, until the gear section 23 isv reached, where the cam surface 20 isreleased and the bottle is then rotated by the gear 22 in such a manner that the neck of the, bottle, which has been previously providedwith a stopperbefore being fed-into the machine, is projected downwardlyinto a body of coating liquid. Kl-S carried in. a dipping tank 49. 1

The coating liquid 48 may be of any desired character but preferably it is comprised of a cellulose ester composition containing finely divided metallic particles,

such, for example, as aluminum powder, as

well as a dyestuff, to give the resulting cap a uniform metallic surface. One specific composition which may be used for this purpose is the coating composition dc scribed in detail in the application of John Wysocki upon sealing composition, fie 525,810, filed December 29, 1921, and the preferred composition givenin which the following: v

100 grams nitrocellulose ester such as py roxylin, 500 cc. ether, 500 cc. absolute alcohol, 50 cc. castoroil, 30 grams aluminum powder, and a quantity of a yellow aniline d e.

Furthermore, before'the bottles are fed into the machine, preferably they will have been provided around the necks thereof with a thin coating of Vaseline, or some other greasy material, so that when the bottles areto be opened the caps will not adhere to the surface .of the glass.

same at the desired level, a tube 57 supplies the liquid from a main supply tank 58, having a cover 59 and provided with a rotary agitator 60. The agitator 60 is driven by a shaft 61, passing through a stufling box 62, and isdriven by means of a bevelled gear (33 in mesh with a bevelled gear 64 connected to a small bevelled gear 65 driven from a bevelled gear 66 on the main shaft 8. In order to prevent leakages around the shaft 61, there is a sleeve 67. Rollers 68 operating on a track 69 and carried by the underside of the main supply tank 58 permit of a vertical adjustment of the tank with reference to sleeve 67.

The neck ofthe bottle havingibeen given, thus, a layer of the coating material in the dipping tank 49, is rotated by the gear segment 23 45 further to enable the neck of the bottle to clear the edge of the tank 49, whereupon the gear 22-passes beyond the gear segment 23, and the bottle container 11 is then; rotated in the reverse direction by contacting with a stop 70 located above the axis of the bottle container 11 so as to bring the neck of the bottle again intoa position in which it is directed downwardly, and so as to enable one face of. the camsurface 20 to fit over the next portion of the sectional track 21.: The cam surface 20 will now travel around the adjacent track section with the bottle neck directed downwardly so that any excess of the coating composition may drip from the end of the same. At the end en from a pulley 76 on t ie shaft of the mo- I t Upon leaving this portion of the track section 21 the gear. 22 comes into. contact with the increased speed gear, 27, so as t0 bring the bottle quickly into an upright position, in order to enable the quantity of the coating material on the neck of the bottle to flow uniformly in a downward direction, and thus provide an even coating thereof on the bottle while the cam surface 20 is in contact with the next succeeding track section 21. The gear 27 is driven from a larger gear 78 which meshes with a gear 79 driven by a bevelled gear 80 from a bevelled gear 56 on the main shaft 8.

The bottle is carried around the table in this manner until the cam surface 20 is released from this track section, whereupon the gear 22 comes into engagement with the gear segment 24and the bottle is rotated thereby 180, so as to bring the neck of the bottle into a body of water 82 carried in a water tank 83, the bottle being held in this position by the cam surface 20, while in'engagement with the track section located opposite to the tank 83. The water hardens the bottle cap, and the bottle is then ready for discharge from the apparatus. The bottle is withdrawn from the body of water 82 as soon as the cam surface 20 passes be-- yond the corresponding track section 21. and after the bottle has been rotated 45 into a horizontal position by the succeeding gear segment 25, while the cam surface 20 is in engagement with the track section 21. At this point'the arm 17 on the gate 15 comes into contact with a releasing arm 8i so as to move the gate into its open position, as shown in Fig. 7. falls out of the bottle container 11 into a gage with the end of the bottle carrying the cap and retard the same while the bottom portion of the bottle moves onwardly in a curved recess 87 provided in the chute until the bottle passes beyond the rod '86 downwardly into the lower end of the chute 85. The lower end of the chute 85 has aslot 88,

through which brackets 89, carried on a conveyer belt 90, continually-ascendso as to remove the bottles from" the chute 85.

The belt 90' is supported upon a pulley 91 'andis driven by a pulley 92 which receives a belt 93 from a larger pulle 94. The pulley 94 is driven by a bevelle ing with a bevelled gear 96,wh1ch is secured to a sprocket'wheel 97, driven by a chain 98" from a sprocket wheel; 99 on the "main shaft f' 8. It will be noted that the bottles .are'con veyed away in vertical'position so as to enafrom this track section 21 and the" gear 22,.

. coming into contact with the gear segment 26, causes the bottle container 11 to rotate 180 so that the cam surface 20 is ready for engagement with the next track section 21,

prises a coating tank, a rotary arm carrying Thereupon, the bottle gear meshlocated in front of the feeding chute 43, from which another bottle to becapped is received in the manner previously described.

The bottles capped in this manner have the appearance of being provided with caps made of sheet metal and the caps may be removed therefrom in substantially the same manner as in removing a sheet metal cap.

It is to beunderstood that many changes may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of the same and within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bottle capping machine which comprises a coating tank, a rotary arm carrying a bottle container rotatable around the arm axis, means for holding the container horizontal to receive a bottle, means for rotating it to dip the bottle into the coatingtank, and for further rotating it to clear the tank, means for inverting it to allow the liquid to drip oil, and means for righting it to permit the liquid to spread evenly.

-' 2. A bottle capping machine which coma bottle container rotatable around the arm. axis, means for holding'it horizontal to rcceive a bottle, means for rotating it to dip the bottle into the coating tank, and for further rotating it to clear the tank, means for inverting it in a reverse dlrection .to allowthe liquid to drip ofl", means for righting it to permit the liquid to spread evenly, a tank for containing a solution to harden the coating formed and means for inverting and "dipping the bottle into the same. chute 85, having at one side a rod 86 to en- A bottle capping machine which com prises a rotary arm carrying a bottle confor holding it horizontal to receive turning the container and the bottle to allow theliquid. to drip off, and means for e bottles are dipped. I A'bottle capping machine, comprising a rotary arm carrying a bottle container for holding said container in horizontal position to receive the bottle, inverting .it to dip-the same, rotating the containerin one direction to discontinue the dippinggfand -then;rotating-'the container in'the reverse 120 direction to're'st'ore the inverted position.

ble them to be more conveniently manipu 4 late d preparator A bottle capping machine, comprisinga rotary arm carryi'n abottl'e container-rm tatable with'regard th -holding saidicontainer 'in horizontal posiereto, and -means for tion to receive the bottle, inverting it to dip the same, rotatingthe container-1n one direction to discontinue the dipping, then rotating the container in the reverse direction again righting it to permit the liquid to' spread evenly and a coating tank into which ,rotatable with regard thereto, and means to restore the inverted position, an air blast mechanism for drying the coating, and means for rotating the container. into upright position and again into an inverted position and finally in a horizontal position to discharge the bottle.

(5. In a bottle capping machine, a bottle holder for securely holding a bottle; means for inverting the holder to dip the neck of the "bottle into a coating solution; a tank means for supplying an air current to said neck; means for thereupon reversing the holderto bring the bottle into an upright position; means for thereupon inverting the holder to dip said neck into a hardening bath a tank for hardening liquid and means for thereupon righting the holder.

7. A bottle capping machine which com prises'a coating tank, a rotary arm carrying a bottle'container rotatable around the arm axis, means for holding the container to receive a bottle, means for moving the containerto dip the bottle into the coating tank, means for inverting the container and bottle to allow the liquid to drop off andmeans for righting the container and bottle to permit the hquid to spread evenly,

8. A bottle capping machine which comiainer and bottle to permit the liquid to spread evenly.

9. A bottle capping machine which comprises a coating tank, a rotary arm carry-- ing a bottle container rotatable around the arm axis, means for holding the container to receive a bottle, means for moving the container to dip the bottle into the coating tank and for moving the container to Withdraw the bottle from the tank, means for inverting the container and bottle to allow the liquid to chip off, and means for righting the container and bottle to permit the liquid to spread evenly.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this. Hth day of January, 1922.

MILTON C. WHITAK ER. 

